Athlone Town boss Brendan Place has confirmed the signings of Shane O'Connell and Gordon Watson to further bolster his squad.

O'Connell is a young left-sided defender who arrives from Shelbourne, while Watson is a striker who had been playing for Greystones in the Leinster Senior League.

Both players will be hoping to impress in the pre-season friendlies so that they can breakthrough into the starting eleven once the new season kicks off.

"These are good young players who want to better themselves and succeed in the league," said Place.

"We have to cut our cloth to measure in terms of bringing in players and I'm very happy with the way the squad is shaping up. We are definitely stronger than during the last pre-season.

"We have brought in a bit of experience and hopefully can add a little bit more in the coming weeks, but we have also acquired a few promising young players who we believe can make the squad stronger and have an impact.

"I think I'll probably sign another few players before the start of the season. We are currently looking at a few players in pre-season training and something might come of that."